President Melissa Whyte from the Rotaract Club of St. Andrew handed over 3 pints of blood to President Sandra Samuels-Reid of their Sponsoring club, Rotary St. Andrew North on Monday following their Blood Drive held last Saturday, November 7th.
The contribution was made to a Rotary member’s Father.
Kudos to the Rotaract Club of St. Andrew, helping to save lives.
The Restaurant Week Ambassador Lyme was held last Friday evening and Suga got to Dig In and preview what is coming for Restaurant Week.
For Appetizers, their Deep fried Mac and Cheese balls with codfish drizzled with a Tamarind glaze is tasty and has an interesting sweet aftertaste.
Entrées that look like winners are the Chimichanga (Slivers of jerked pork wrapped in a warm tortilla served with guacamole, salsa and sour cream) and their famous Fried Chicken and Waffles, tender finger grips on fresh Belgian Waffles! Yum!
Note that the Chef loves to make things spicy so that Jerked pork may be hot hot hot like their Seafood bowl that they serve on Wednesday nights.
For Dessert they have Cuban Bread Pudding served with a warm coffee caramel that I hear is quite small in size and more Waffles! A warm Belgian waffle served with your choice ice-cream topped with a warm fruit compote.
So Dig In at Lucky Strike for the Tasty Category, costing $1850JMD (Beverages, G.C.T and Gratuity not included). You may choose any one Appetizer, Entrée and Dessert along with your salad.
Lucky Strike Lounge
Location: 195 C Constant Spring Road (Manor Centre), Kingston 8
Ph: 876-631-9980, 876-631-9797
C & C South Beach is one to consider in the Savoury category, costing $2800JMD (*Beverages and GCT not included) for Restaurant Week Jamaica this November 13-21.
Suga visited recently and the quality of food was good and service was decent. The only concern is waiting time, even with a small amount of diners. So Suga endorses C & C South Beach BUT only during a time that may not be busy, perhaps a week day for a late lunch or late dinner. It’s a gamble. Good luck!
For Appetizers, their Chusan Palm Smoked Salmon looks good.
For Entrées, their Chicken Marsala is not a favourite of mine with regards to the taste and I found that it was too saucy, so I do not recommend that dish, however they have other options to please the palate such as the Island Snapper Fillet, Washington Palm Smoked Pork Chop and Lobster Thermidor.
The Crème brûlée and Rum & Raisin Bread Pudding look exciting for dessert.
CC South Beach Restaurant, Sports Bar and Event Venue
Location: 2 Brompton Road. Kingston 5
Ph:Â 630-4571 or 630-4163
Part proceeds from each bottle purchased will go towards the Jamaica Down’s Syndrome Foundation.
Do your part to help Build a Better Jamaica. TGIF!
Last October 15th before the Heroes Weekend holiday, Jerkaz was visited by my fiancé and friends. The Jerk Chicken costed about $500JMD inclusive of tax and the bill was $4000JMD for 3 people and soup was ordered with one of the meals. So reasonable to an extent.
Service was alright but they were the only people there, so hard to judge versus if there were more diners present.
The serving size was decent and provided value for money. However, their style of cooking is by smoking the chicken, not jerking. So why not call it Smokaz?
JERKAZ Restaurant has a lot of potential to be a nice chill spot to have some drinks and affordable food. Perhaps they should participate in Restaurant Week next year in the Tasty category for more exposure. Until then, a different marketing strategy needs to be used and they should ensure that they are prepared for an increased amount of diners.
JERKAZ Restaurant
55 Old Hope Rd. Kingston 6
The Rotaract Club of St. Andrew (RCSA) will be having their Blood and Can Drive this Saturday, November 7th at National Chest Hospital from 9-4pm.
Come on out, Pledge a Pint and a Can and Donate blood to Save Lives.
National Chest Hospital
Location: 36 1/2 Barbican Road. Kingston 6.
Hi Suga Readers,
Two important corrections re Pork Palooza published on Friday, October 30, 2015 have come to my attention. The first was updated on the same day the article was published. Please take special note of the 2nd correction with regards to the judging of the chefs for the night.
2. How exactly did the voting process go?
According to Tina Hamilton, Brand Manager of CB Foods and Nutramix, only the 8 featured chefs were eligible to win Top Hog. Voting was done by the patrons who were given voting tabs at the entrance along with their wrist bands.
Somehow, every patron was not aware, but Ms. Hamilton stated that they were urged to vote for their favorite chef throughout the night by dropping their tab in a voting box provided at the chefs’ stations. These boxes were collected and votes tallied at 10:25pm showing Dale de Lisser as the one with the most votes. Anyone who voted for Dale also got a takeaway gift from Copperwood.
If you missed the review on Pork Palooza or you would like to just read the updated review, click on the link below:
Considering the excellent quality of food, service and a wonderful view while dining, Suga endorses Christopher’s at Hermosa Cove for the Delectable category that costs $3800JMD during Restaurant Week Jamaica, November 13-21.
*Price of each category includes a choice of appetizer, main course and dessert. Beverages, GCT and gratuity additional.
For Soup and Salad, the Cream of Pepperpot Soup with Callaloo and the Pimento Wood Smoked Marlin Salad with Thinly Sliced Marlin, Bamboo Farm Pulled Baby Cilantro, Chilled Escovitch Pickling Liquid, Shaved Scallion and Plum Tomatoes with Scotch Bonnet Drizzle sound like a treat to me! I have already had the Smoked Marlin salad. It is delightful.
Jerk Sausage and Mussels ‘Hot Pot’ for an Appetizer sounds interestingly good. There are other tasty sounding appetizers as well.
There are Vegetarian options for Entrees such as the Vegetarian Roti with Stewed Curried Lima Bean, Pumpkin, Carrots and Bammy. Otherwise, the Steamed Catch of the day “Fish En Papillote†and 5 Spice Dusted, Smoked “BBQ†Pork Spare Ribs with Red and White Cabbage Chilled Cole Slaw and BBQ Sauce sound delicious!
You can then top it off with Cinnamon and Vanilla Bread and Butter Pudding with Rum Spiced Chocolate Sauce for Dessert.
Chef Conroy Arnold sources his herbs, fruits and vegetables from the garden on property and the Catch of the Day from local fishermen. So his dishes aren’t only authentic and rich in flavour but fresh as well.
Check out Suga’s review of them here:
Gabby Celebrates at Best Kept Secret, Christopher’s at Hermosa Cove
Location: Hermosa Cove Hermosa Street, Pineapple, Ocho Rios, St Ann
PHONE: 974-3699 or 974-9776
M-10 Bar & Grill Barbican will be offering 2-dish combos for less than $1000JMD in the Nyam and Scram Category for Restaurant Week, November 13-21. Go get it! #sugaendorsed
Location: 28 Barbican Road. Kingston 6. Â Â Â Â
Ph: (876)336-6969 or (876)408-5819
Open Monday to Saturday: 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Last Wednesday night was Pork Palooza, part of the Jamaica Food and Drink Festival. It was held at The Savanna, 42 Lady Musgrave Road and Gabby’s trusted Suga Bears were out and ready to report!
Hundreds of patrons came out to support the event, excited to see what would be in store. There was Roast pork, stashes of Bacon, Pork cheek, Pork belly, Pig ears, every part of the swine you can think about!
The handpicked best Pork Chefs on the island were Alexa Von Strolley, Chantay Campbell, Gairy Bowes, Christian Sweeney, Shea Stewart, Dale Delisser, Simon Levy and Sarah Willers.
Parking and entry into the venue was well-organized and executed. Tents were displayed nicely and logically for easy access in a U-shape with a Bar in the middle and a Band at the bottom of the ‘U’. Bistro tables were all around the venue and the Band was quite entertaining. Organisers failed to acknowledge them between sets.
Christian Sweeney and Shea Stewart had the longest lines for the night.
Shea had Pork loin stuffed with feta and callaloo complemented by a mushroom sauce that was magical. The pork was a juicy, lean cut that tasted FANTASTIC!
Sweeney’s dish was EXCELLENT. The pork was lovely and well seasoned. The plating and presentation were very original. The guac was a different touch and he advised patrons to squeeze a little lime over it. Before the lime, it was great and after adding the lime, it was even better! Patrons thought visiting his tent was very interactive in comparison to the others.
Simon Levy had a 4-Pork Ramen soup. Call the ambulance because people were suffering from a hypertensive attack from one of the pork cuts used. It threw off the entire broth, causing some people to stop eating the entire dish.
A Suga Bear asked for no water/broth because she didn’t like how it looked as a soup. So she was able to enjoy everything else in the bowl.
There was a tent with Pork Burgers but it was not impressive. The bread was too thick and the patty wasn’t well seasoned. It was a bit disappointing and later in the night when the crowds came and all the lines were full, that station was empty. Their sauce deserves a ‘big up’ though!
Gairy Bowes had Stuffed Pork Butt with Gold Bread. Patrons thought it was superb. Wow!
The Pulled Pork Panini sponsored by National was very tasty and had a pleasant kick to it.
The organizers certainly had a treat for patrons with a Copperwood Pork creation! They had something that many people have a weakness for – Bacon! Candied bacon. It was the rave of the night. It was in beer cups floating around the venue. Extremely tasty with a unique presentation. It was like picking sweetie out of a candy jar.
Now for Alexa Von Strolley! The oh so talented young caterer to watch! She surely took us through a culinary journey of the pig’s anatomy.
In the dish pictured, on top is Deep Fried Pig Ears, below was a big chunk of Crispy Pork Belly and on the side were pieces of Orange Braised Pork Cheek. It did not look appetizing at all but this was Pork Palooza and Suga Bears were determined to try everything and embrace the culinary adventure. So even tho the Pork Belly just looked like a slab of fat and was indeed fatty, the taste was pleasantly soft and not chewy. The Ears was of course an interesting twist. Well done Von Strolley.
Other tents failed to be as impressive.
There was Crispy Roast Pork by Dale Delisser. It was like a drier version of Crispy Pork from any Jamaican Chinese restaurant with a little extra kick to it. It was alright.
There was a tent with Pork Heart and Fried Pork, where the texture of both was off and the Fried Pork was too salty.
Desserts were offered too! Banana bread and another dessert with the essence of pumpkin was in the National tent and ice-cream was there as well.
This was actually all a Competition. The Crispy Roast Pork won for the night surprisingly even though Suga Bears rated it as the 4th or 5th best tent for the night. However our natural ethnic population is changing as we speak and the presence of the Chinese was strong.
How exactly did the voting process go?
According to Tina Hamilton, Brand Manager of CB Foods and Nutramix, only the 8 featured chefs were eligible to win Top Hog. Voting was done by the patrons who were given voting tabs at the entrance along with their wrist bands.
Somehow, every patron was not aware, but Ms. Hamilton stated that they were urged to vote for their favorite chef throughout the night by dropping their tab in a voting box provided at the chefs’ stations. These boxes were collected and votes tallied at 10:25pm showing Dale de Lisser as the one with the most votes. Anyone who voted for Dale also got a takeaway gift from Copperwood.
At the end of the night, for $5000JMD, Jamaican patrons had a bellyful and enjoyed themselves, getting value for their money.
What followed last night? Crispy Fried Fare and Beer at the Gardens of The Jamaica Pegasus. That was well supported as well, featuring The Pegasus’ own Chef Mark Cole who cooked for President Barack Obama, Chef Suzanne Couch and more.
Tonight is Stix + Stones Skewers and Spirits at The Ruins, Mona Visitor’s Lodge, UWI Mona for $6500JMD from 7pm to 11pm.Â
Winner of Best New Caterer at this year’s Observer Food Awards, Allison Porter-Smalling, Opa, Jacqui Tyson, Liqy Liqy and more will be present. Select Brands is also a sponsor, so cheers to a great Friday Foodies and enjoy the weekend!
For more information, visit www.jamaicafoodanddrinkfestival.com